A Kashmiri Half-Widow Waiting For Ex-Gratia Relief From 25 Years

25 years ago Mohammad Abdullah Ahanger of Diaroo, Shopian, a Blacksmith by profession left his home for work and went disappeared. His family lodged a missing report in the police station Pulwama, but even then they were not able to find him. His wife is living a life of Half-widow in poverty. She is entitled for Ex-gratia relief by the government and is following the case for 25 years but to no avail.

There is a provision for an ex-gratia payment to the families of disappeared person this can be given only seven years after the disappearance and is subject to proving that the victim was never involved in militant activities.

According to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), there are around 8000 people disappeared in the last 30 years of armed conflict. Jammu and Kashmir is region in South Asia bordered by India, Pakistan and China and has seen political instability since India’s partition in 1947. The parts administered by Pakistan are called Azad-Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, while as India controls the valley of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.